stage, and developing countries entered the voluntary stage. From 2013 to 2020,
developed countries and some middle-income countries will enter the compulsory
stage, and developing countries will enter the voluntary stage. From 2020, almost all
countries will be in the compulsory stage (Zhou 2004).
Taking China as an example, as shown in Fig. 3.4, the author predicted that the
voluntary stage would last until 2012 and the self-imposed stage would be between
2013 and 2020 and the compulsory stage after 2020 (Zhou 2001, 2004). China was
exempted from greenhouse gas reduction obligations until 2012, the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, as stipulated by the Kyoto Convention on the
Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Berlin Mandate. Regarding the
target for 2013–2020 announced at COP15, China was not legally bound to reduce
CO 2 emissions per GDP by 40–45% compared to 2005 by 2020. However, it
mandated this voluntary target domestically, incorporating it into implementation
of the 12th and 13th Five-Year Plans (2011–2015 and 2016–2020), moving from the
voluntary to self-imposed stage. From 2020, China’s per capita CO 2 emissions will
exceed the global average, and it is expected to have legally binding targets for
reduction as in developed countries (Zhou 2001, 2004).
This projection of China’s climate response schedule is mostly in line with the
Paris Agreement, which will require legally binding commitments from both developed and developing countries from 2020 in order to meet its targets. All countries
participated in “deciding voluntary reduction target (NDCs) and sending it to the
United Nations every five years” and “taking domestic measures for reduction to
achieve it.”
Developed countries, including Japan, have sequentially experienced economic
development, pollution problems, and global climate change, but China is facing
these three challenges simultaneously. Generally, the most urgent environmental
problems are domestic problems associated with urbanization, such as air pollution,
water pollution, and waste management, and measures against global warming are
inevitably of low priority. However, domestic environmental problems facing China
and global environmental problems do not conflict. For example, both acid rain and
global warming are caused by substances generated by the consumption of fossil
fuels, so it is possible to implement measures that contribute to the simultaneous
solution of both issues. Since greenhouse gases have a long-term impact, developing
countries cannot wait to take effective and appropriate measures; it is necessary to
address these three challenges facing China simultaneously.
3.3.3.2 Second Axis: Spatial Cooperation
Solving global climate change is impossible with the efforts of only one country. It is
essential to realize a local low-carbon society through urban–rural cooperation, an
inter-city low-carbon community through international inter-city cooperation, and a
wide-area low-carbon society through transnational cooperation. The term “glocal”
has been coined to combine global and local and represents the idea of “think
globally, act locally.” It is defined as a regional concept, located between “global”
76
W. Zhou
developed countries and some middle-income countries will enter the compulsory
stage, and developing countries will enter the voluntary stage. From 2020, almost all
countries will be in the compulsory stage (Zhou 2004).
Taking China as an example, as shown in Fig. 3.4, the author predicted that the
voluntary stage would last until 2012 and the self-imposed stage would be between
2013 and 2020 and the compulsory stage after 2020 (Zhou 2001, 2004). China was
exempted from greenhouse gas reduction obligations until 2012, the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, as stipulated by the Kyoto Convention on the
Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Berlin Mandate. Regarding the
target for 2013–2020 announced at COP15, China was not legally bound to reduce
CO 2 emissions per GDP by 40–45% compared to 2005 by 2020. However, it
mandated this voluntary target domestically, incorporating it into implementation
of the 12th and 13th Five-Year Plans (2011–2015 and 2016–2020), moving from the
voluntary to self-imposed stage. From 2020, China’s per capita CO 2 emissions will
exceed the global average, and it is expected to have legally binding targets for
reduction as in developed countries (Zhou 2001, 2004).
This projection of China’s climate response schedule is mostly in line with the
Paris Agreement, which will require legally binding commitments from both developed and developing countries from 2020 in order to meet its targets. All countries
participated in “deciding voluntary reduction target (NDCs) and sending it to the
United Nations every five years” and “taking domestic measures for reduction to
achieve it.”
Developed countries, including Japan, have sequentially experienced economic
development, pollution problems, and global climate change, but China is facing
these three challenges simultaneously. Generally, the most urgent environmental
problems are domestic problems associated with urbanization, such as air pollution,
water pollution, and waste management, and measures against global warming are
inevitably of low priority. However, domestic environmental problems facing China
and global environmental problems do not conflict. For example, both acid rain and
global warming are caused by substances generated by the consumption of fossil
fuels, so it is possible to implement measures that contribute to the simultaneous
solution of both issues. Since greenhouse gases have a long-term impact, developing
countries cannot wait to take effective and appropriate measures; it is necessary to
address these three challenges facing China simultaneously.
3.3.3.2 Second Axis: Spatial Cooperation
Solving global climate change is impossible with the efforts of only one country. It is
essential to realize a local low-carbon society through urban–rural cooperation, an
inter-city low-carbon community through international inter-city cooperation, and a
wide-area low-carbon society through transnational cooperation. The term “glocal”
has been coined to combine global and local and represents the idea of “think
globally, act locally.” It is defined as a regional concept, located between “global”
76
W. Zhou